Thahekhu Village Council (TVC) has condemned the incident wherein some youths, including a student, were brought to Thahekhu village and assaulted by some cadres belonging to a particular faction in the intervening night of December 16 and 17.
To questions on why Tahekhu village maintained silence for so long over the matter, TVC chairman George Ayemi and secretary Inato Yepthomi in a statement clarified that it was so because the council was neither aware of the incident, nor received any verbal or written complaint from any individual or group prior to the incident coming to light.
Consequent upon the FIR being lodged by the victims at the Sub-Urban Police Station, they said the police intimated the council of the matter.
The signatories also said that the council was fully cooperating with the Sub-Urban Police Station and had already handed over the alleged accused persons, along with arms believed to have been used in the incident.
Upon conducting an internal inquiry, they mentioned that the council found that the accused persons were not permanent residents of Thahekhu village. Now that the matter was under investigation, the council said it would determine its own course of action against the accused after the completion of the Police investigation.
They reaffirmed their commitment to cooperating fully with the investigating authorities, as they had been doing so ever since the incident came to the knowledge of the council.
Further, they said the TVC has issued an ultimatum to Michael Yepthomi to own moral responsibility for the incident, since it occurred in his residential premises. Wishing the victims a speedy recovery, the duo urged the law enforcing agencies to ensure that justice was delivered to the victims by bringing the perpetrators to book.
They also appealed everyone to desist from making unjustified allegations or posting derogatory remarks against the Thahekhu Village Baptist Church or the TVC on social media or other online platforms.
They urged the public to allow the investigation to reach its logical conclusion as per the law of the land by exercising patience and upholding the principles of fairness and justice during the investigative process.